PREMIUM
Stephen Nover's NBA Finals Play of the Month
(NBA) Golden State vs. Cleveland,
Total: 229.00 | -110.00 Over
Result: Loss
Total: 229.00 | -110.00 Over
Result: Loss
There is just one day of rest between Game 3, which was Wednesday night, and tonight's Game 4 in this NBA Championship Series. It makes a difference. Yet the total is the highest it has been all series.
It makes sense on the surface to post the highest over/under since the last two game have gone above the total.
But let's look closer at the numbers and human factor involved in this Game 4. First, the numbers:
Golden State won, 118-113, in Game 3 to go up 3-0 in the series. That was a combined 231 points. The Warriors and Cavaliers together made 43 of 49 free throws for 88 percent. Golden State shot 78.8 percent from the foul line during the regular season. Cleveland made only 74.8 percent of its free throws in the regular season. So expect the free throw shooting accuracy to drop.
There were 103 points scored in the second half during Game 3. That averages out to 206 for the entire game.
The Cavaliers do like to run. However, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were seriously gassed at the end of Wednesday night's game as well as they should have been each having logged more than 44 minutes.
James and Irving are the only Cavaliers playing well. So I envision a slower tempo from the Cavaliers in this do-or-die spot. The Cavaliers can't run with the Warriors, who have more depth and better offensive talent, and they know this.
It makes sense on the surface to post the highest over/under since the last two game have gone above the total.
But let's look closer at the numbers and human factor involved in this Game 4. First, the numbers:
Golden State won, 118-113, in Game 3 to go up 3-0 in the series. That was a combined 231 points. The Warriors and Cavaliers together made 43 of 49 free throws for 88 percent. Golden State shot 78.8 percent from the foul line during the regular season. Cleveland made only 74.8 percent of its free throws in the regular season. So expect the free throw shooting accuracy to drop.
There were 103 points scored in the second half during Game 3. That averages out to 206 for the entire game.
The Cavaliers do like to run. However, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were seriously gassed at the end of Wednesday night's game as well as they should have been each having logged more than 44 minutes.
James and Irving are the only Cavaliers playing well. So I envision a slower tempo from the Cavaliers in this do-or-die spot. The Cavaliers can't run with the Warriors, who have more depth and better offensive talent, and they know this.
